The Waiting Game

Sitting atop my priority list for 2011 is finding a new job.  As I see it, there are pretty much four stages in the job search process:

• 1) Finding out about the job opening; 
• 2) Getting the interview;
• 3) Surviving the Interview process; and
• 4) Closure (Waiting for the offer)

In my current situation, a phone call last summer from someone in my network allowed me to cruise through stages one and two quickly.  Literally overnight.  Stage three proved a more lengthy process.  Over the last six months I  endured five separate interview sessions with over two dozen people. My final interview took place eleven days ago.  At that time, I was informed that "things look good " and my candidacy would now have to survive three committee meetings (recruiting, management and partnership) before a final offer could be extended.  The estimated time for an answer was approximately two weeks. So now I wait in stage four.

To pass the time, I have tried to move some of my job search"eggs" to other baskets- last week I had two interviews for a completely different position. Although the company seemed fun, at this stage in my financial life, I can't afford to take a job for pay that makes my current government salary look like executive compensation. I should have known there was a red flag when the hiring manager had to stop at his CUBICLE to grab the pre-printed interview questions on our way to the conference room. In that instance, stages 1-4 (including my rejection of the offer) took roughly three days to complete.

Eleven days and counting... 

I'm preparing to follow up on Monday.  I keep telling myself (and everyone around me) that I'm not counting on an offer.  I wish that were true.  Securing this job will open up crucial financial doors and allow me to begin building my legal career in our current city.  At this point, I'd just like to get a final answer so I can move on.

The waiting game is difficult.  I am reminded of a favorite passage of scripture from Proverbs 3:5  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."  I am also reminded of Ecclesiastes 7:8 "The end of a matter is better than its beginning and patience is better than pride."  Amen.

Are you waiting for anything, dear readers?  Let's try to learn patience together.  Please say a prayer for me if you read this post before I post an update!

Excellence is Deliberate.

From the moment I gave birth to my first son, I have purposely infused his worldview with a steady diet of great expectations: "You can be President!"  "You can learn multiple foreign languages!"  "You can aim for the toilet and not for the wall!"  All the while I have struggled to execute these great expectations in the area of fulfilling my own potential.

About two years ago, I heard a message in church about raising Godly children.  To paraphrase, the pastor said simply, "You raise who you are, not what you say."  In other words, our children learn more about how to live their lives from the way we model behavior than from the character lessons we attempt to instill intellectually.  So true. In many aspects I am my mother. In the way I raise my children, in the way I think about the world around me, and even in the way I physically carry myself including my speaking voice.  Certainly, in other significant ways I am my own woman, but the core of who I am started with who my parents showed me I could be.  As the parent of two exceptional little boys, that thought is both exciting and terrifying.  God gave me two blank slates and one of my deepest fears is that I will somehow "mess them up" and ruin their potential because of my failings as a mother.

In 2011 (and beyond) I am raising the bar. Stepping up my game. Starting with the (wo)man in the mirror... and every other cliche that signifies a commitment to excellence.  The truth is, excellence is deliberate.  A life worth noting never happens by accident. Think about that. Let it sink in and repeat it to yourself.  EXCELLENCE IS DELIBERATE. 

That commitment to excellence is what this blog is all about;  A chronicle of my journey to strive for excellence in my faith, my family, my career and my community.  If you have made it this far through this post, I know that you are committed to the same thing in your own life, on your own terms.  It is my desire that you will take this journey with me and invite others along the way.

Old School...

New School...

So why now?  This is the first year in at least the last five years that I have no plans or (likely) possibility of a move.  I am finally able to put down roots in a community and make long(er) term plans for my family life, career and community involvement. That is HUGE!

Phase one of my plan, stabilize our finances and transition from a job mentality to career building mindset.  Let the financial management classes and career networking begin!

Happy New Year dear readers!  Let's make it a great one together.